Starting Up

NatureWorks Launches Biopolymer Alloys

From: Plastics Technology
Issue: March 2012

Joint venture with BioAmber, called AmberWorks, will produce blends of PLA and succinic-acid based biopolymers,

Last month, NatureWorks LLC, Minnetonka, Minn., the maker of Ingeo PLA, launched a joint venture with BioAmber, a biobased chemical company based in Montreal with a production plant in France. The 50:50 venture, called AmberWorks, will produce blends of PLA and succinic-acid based biopolymers, such as PBS (polybutylene succinate) and PBSA (PBS-adipate) . The bio-derived succinic acid will come from BioAmber. The resins will be marketed exclusively by NatureWorks. The new products will exceed PLA in flexibility, toughness, and heat resistance—resembling PP and PE, while PLA is more like PS or PET. Two developmental thermoforming and injection grades are already available. (More details next month.)